Our captain pronounced it the hottest trip he had ever made.

Twice was the ship turned round to steam against the wind for a short time in order to revive some of the passengers, who were almost suffocated.
We passed the wreck of the _Alma_, a P.and O.vessel which had struck on a coral reef not far from Mocha.

The wreck had happened in the dead of night, and there had been only time to get the passengers into the boats, in which they were rowed to another reef near at hand; there they had remained for eighty hours in their scanty night garments, and without the smallest shelter, until rescued by a friendly steamer.

The officers and crew were still on the rock when we passed, endeavouring to get up the mails and the passengers' property.

We supplied them with provisions and water, of which they were badly in need, and then had to leave them in their extremely uncomfortable position.
We could not complain of lack of air after we passed Aden, for we forthwith encountered the south-west monsoon, then at its height, and on entering the Bay of Bengal we experienced something very nearly akin to a cyclone.